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Jurors acquit Stillwater bail agent in shooting death of client

STILLWATER — Jurors Friday acquitted a Stillwater bail agent of first-degree murder in the August shooting death of one of her clients.

Chasity Dawn Carey let out a loud gasp as the “not guilty” verdict was announced. She then cried and hugged her attorneys.

Carey, 42, of Drumright, testified she shot the client, Brandon James Williams, 38, of Stillwater, at her office Aug. 9 in self-defense. She and her 19-year-old son were attempting to take Williams, who was free on bail, back into custody at the time.

“I was afraid he was going to shoot my son,” Carey told the Payne County jury. “I felt like we were going to be killed. … I've never been that scared before.”

Carey testified Williams attempted to grab her gun before fleeing out her office window. She said she beat Williams to the gun and turned to fire just as he was going out the window. She shot Williams in the back.

Prosecutors alleged Carey was not acting in self-defense but shot Williams after he was “no longer a threat.”

“It's never OK to shoot someone in the back. … Where's the danger? Where was it?” First Assistant District Attorney Kevin Etherington said during closing arguments Friday.

A video of the shooting showed Carey grab the gun and fire at Williams after he was out of view of the camera. The video did not show Williams grab for the gun. Defense attorneys contended Williams was just out of view of the camera. The video also did not show a portion of the office where the window was located.

The day before the shooting, Williams texted Carey, “Gone to Florida,” police reported. After realizing Williams hadn't yet left and needed money for the trip, Carey came up with a ruse to meet up so she could take him back into custody, according to testimony.

As part of the plan, Carey's son texted Williams about purchasing his Ford Mustang. Williams had already given Carey the car as collateral for her posting his bond. Williams was accused in a burglary case.

Carey's son set up the GoPro camera in the office moments before Williams arrived on Aug. 9. When Williams walked into the office, he immediately sat down and began to talk about cars with Carey and her son.

Shortly after, Carey got up and locked the door. At that point, Williams said, “Oh, (expletive).”

Carey then asked Williams to turn around. Her son pulled out a pair of handcuffs, the video shows.

“What's going on here? What are you doing this for?” Williams said as he stood up and put his back to a wall in the office.

Williams then said, “I'm not going back to jail. … You're not going to cuff me.”

After attempting to exit the locked door in the office, Williams moved over to the window, which was off camera behind Carey's desk. He raised a curtain and then moved off camera.

At this same time, Carey reached across the desk to grab her handgun out of a drawer. She then turned and shot toward the window holding the gun in both hands.

Her son immediately says, “Mom, you just shot him.” She replies, “I did.”

The bullet entered Williams' lower back and exited his upper chest, according to the state medical examiner. The wound was consistent with Williams being shot while bending over to go out the window.

After the shooting, Carey told investigators she and Williams struggled for the gun and he was shot. Police later arrested Carey after viewing the video and no struggle was seen.

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During closing arguments, defense attorney Jarrod Stevenson told the jury, “What's not on the video is your reasonable doubt.”

After the verdict, Stevenson said, “The video only showed half of the shooting. It didn't show what Mr. Williams was doing and I think that's what the jury really focused on.”

Kyle Schwab

Kyle Schwab has been a reporter for The Oklahoman newspaper since 2013. He currently covers Oklahoma City courts. He graduated from the University of Central Oklahoma with a major in journalism. He lives in Edmond.
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